Chilean Congress Approves “Zamudio Law” Against Discrimination

Top Story — Chile’s Congress passed a long-delayed anti-discrimination law on Wednesday night in a vote of 25-3, seven years after the law was initially introduced and more than two months after 24 year-old gay Chilean Daniel Zamudio was beaten in a violent attack from which he eventually died. Zamudio’s murder prompted thousands of Chileans, including Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, to call for expedited passage of the anti-discrimination law that had been languishing since it was approved by the Senate in November 2011. Chile’s House of Deputies approved the law last month. The law, referred to by many as the “Zamudio Law”, will enable Chileans to file anti-discrimination lawsuits and to add hate crime sentences for violent crimes.